The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) has become the first African university to join edX. With this, the edX community throughout Africa (which boasts of over 200,000 learners), will now have access to courses from Wits.
“This is a pioneering, innovative project spearheaded by Wits, which will indeed unlock new opportunities in South Africa and through the rest of the continent. This is in line with the University’s commitment to being locally responsive and internationally competitive,” says Prof. Adam Habib, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Wits University. “We are still developing the course content but students from around the world will be able to access our international expertise in a range of fields ranging from economics and law to deep level mining and the palaeosciences.”
The total number of students pursuing higher education in Africa tripled between 1991 and 2006, however public investment in education has remained the same. This increase in demand, along with the growing value of university degrees on the continent, means that the current high levels of educational expansion may still not be enough. The edX and Wits partnership will help bridge this gap by delivering education opportunities to students on the continent and beyond.
According to Johannes Heinlein, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships edX, “We are pleased to welcome The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) as our first African University partner. Our collaboration is the first of its kind between a major MOOC provider and an African University.”
As a premier research institution and our first university partner in Africa, we look forward to collaborating to increase access to high quality education for all, and especially for learners in South Africa and throughout the continent who are eager for new educational opportunities and to develop new skills.
Wits courses will be open for enrollment on edx.org in 2015.
EdX is a non-profit online initiative created by founding partners Harvard and MIT. It offers interactive online classes and MOOCs from the world’s best universities, colleges and organizations. Topics include biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, finance, electronics, engineering, food and nutrition, history, humanities, law, literature, math, medicine, music, philosophy, physics, science, statistics and more.
